Thursday, April 30, 2009

takes office as our first President of these United States. Washington is sworn in on Wall Street…1931] The George Washington Bridge, linking Manhattan to New Jersey opens…

1901] Start to finish: Pitching for the Boston Americans, Cy Young beats the A’s 8-6 in Philadelphia. Since the Americans will become the the Red Sox, this is the first Sox game in history…1939] The great Lou Gehrig plays his last game. In that game, Gehrig goes 0 for 4 against the Washington Senators in a game played at Yankee Stadium…

1939] That’s Fair: The New York World's Fair, billed as a look at ‘The World of Tomorrow’ opens in Flushing Meadow…

1961] Foursome: Using utility player Joey Amalfitano’s bat, Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants becomes the 9th player in history to hit 4 home runs in a game as the Giants pound Milwaukee 14-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium…

1991] Death by cyclone: An estimated 125,000 perish when a cyclone hits Bangladesh…

1993] Stabbed in the back: Top-ranked women’s tennis player Monica Seles is stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg, Germany by a 38-year old Steffi Graf fan. Seles will never be the same player after the stabbing...

1997] I’m coming out: ABC-TV airs the “coming out” episode of “Ellen” in which the title character played by Ellen DeGeneres admits to being a lesbian. Five days earlier she comes out herself...

2001] Washington mystery: Washington intern Chandra Levy is seen for the last time at a health club near her apartment. Her remains are found more than a year later in a D.C. park. California Congressman Gary Condit was questioned in the case due to his relationship with Levy. He is not charged in her murder…

2004] This case is not over yet: Former New Jersey Net star Jayson Williams is acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in the shotgun slaying of his limo driver at his New Jersey mansion. This case will be re-tried. The date is pending. This past weekend, cops tazered Williams after a reported suicide attempt by the former player...

2007] ‘Happy Trails': Comedian Tom Poston passes away after a brief illness. Poston was 85...2007] Former original member of the Platters, Zola Taylor, 69, dies from pneumonia following a series of strokes. Taylor was once married to Frankie Lyman…For more on April 30th:

1961] Spanning the globe: ABCs "Wide World Of Sports" debuts with “The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat“…

1986] The Rocket soars: Red Sox ace Roger Clemensstrikes out 20 Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park setting a new major league mark previously shared by Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver, all tied with 19...

1990] Tear down this wall: Ronald Reagangets his demand answered when the Berlin Wall begins to come down…

1992] A bad day in L.A.: Deadly rioting erupts in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley acquits 4 LAPD officers of almost all charges in the beating of Rodney King, captured on video tape. 54 die and $1 billion in damage are the results of the rioting…

1993] White out: It’s “Barry White Day” on "The Simpsons"...

1996] CIA MIA: Former CIA Director William Colby is missing and presumed drowned after an apparent boating accident in Maryland. Colby’s body is later discovered…

2004] Monumental: A national WWII monument saluting men and women who served during that war, opens to the public in Washington, D.C…For more on April 29th:

Monday, April 27, 2009

1956] A Rocky goodbye: 31-year old, undefeated heavyweight champ, Rocky Marciano calls it quits and hangs up his boxing gloves with a perfect 49-0 record. At the age of 44 Marciano will lose his life in a small plane crash…

1973] Opry moves to the suburbs: The Grand Ole Opry leaves the Ryman Auditorium to open up Opryland in suburban Nashville…

1978] Free as a bird: Former Nixon aide John D. Ehrlichmanis released from prison after serving 18 months for Watergate-related crimes...

1981] Wedding Bells: After grunting their way through the movie “Caveman“, Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach, dressed like Fred & Wilma Flintstone, get married in Durango, Mexico…

1982] Guilty as charged: John W. Hinckley Jr. goes on trial in Washington, D.C. for shooting President Ronald Reagan. Hinckley will be acquitted by reason of insanity…

1987] Banned from the USA: The Justice Department bars Austrian President Kurt Waldheim from entering the U.S., saying he aided in the deportation and execution of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during WWII...

2002] No-no: Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter at Fenway Park since Dave Morehead in 1965. Facing 28 batters, Lowe totals only 97 pitches in the 10-0 whitewashing of Tampa Bay…For more on April 27th:

Friday, April 24, 2009

1607] British invasion: English colonists go ashore at Cape Henry (VA) to establish the first permanent English settlement in the Western Hemisphere (4/26)...

1901] You're so vain: New York becomes the first state to require automobile license plates and they're all vanity plates containing initials (4/25)...

1963] One for the thumb and then some: Led by Bob Cousy & Bill Russell, the Celtics win their fifth consecutive NBA title (4/24)...1964] Make it 6 in a row (4/26). The Celtics will extend the streak to 8. It will go down as the greatest consecutive winning streak in professional sports history...

1974] The NFL rules: The NFL adopts 2 new rules: 1) Allowing for a 15-minute sudden-death overtime period during regular season games and 2) They move the goal posts to the back of the end zone (4/25)...

1976] American hero: Cubs outfielder Rick Monday rescues the American flag from two unruly fans at Dodgers Stadium that were about to burn it in centerfield. Monday snatches it away and becomes America's newest hero (4/25)...

1977] Debuted on this date: Studio 54 opens on West 54th Street in Manhattan. Studio 54 was an experience to witness (4/26)...

1986] Nuked: The world's worst nuclear accident happens at Chernobyl in the Urkraine. An explosion and fire in the number four reactor sends radioactivity into the atmosphere killing at least 31 immediately (4/26)...

2005] Runaway bride: Missing Georgia woman Jennifer Wilbanks turns up in New Mexico, originally claiming to have been abducted but later admits she was a runaway bride (4/25)...For more on April 24 - 26:

Thursday, April 23, 2009

1789] Emptying the U-Haul: President-elect George Washington and his wife Martha move into the first executive mansion - the Franklin House in Manhattan...

1896] Pass the popcorn: The Vitascope system for projecting movies onto a screen in demonstrated in New York City...

1950] Laker legends: Led by George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers win their first NBA title by beating Syracuse in 6 games...1989] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plays his final NBA game for the Lakers...

1954] Diamond dust: Henry Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hits the first of his 755 home runs off of ex-Yankee pitcher, Cardinal right-hander Vic Raschi...1964] Ken Johnson of Houston throws the first no-hitter for a loss. The Reds win the game on two Houston errors...

1969] Guilty as charged: Sirhan B. Sirhan is sentenced to death for the assassination of New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The sentence is later reduced to life in prison which Sirhan is now serving in California...

1985] Ain't nothing like the real thing baby: Coca Cola changes its 99-year old secret formula but "New Coke" fizzes out and they go back to the original formula...

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

1864] A higher authority: Congress authorizes the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins...

1952] A Test: An atomic test conducted in Nevada becomes the first nuclear explosion shown on live network TV...

1954] On the tube: The U.S. Senate, Army-McCarthy televised hearings begin...

1970] The Franchise: Tom Seaver of the Mets ties the single-game strike-out record with 19 against San Diego at Shea Stadium...

1970] Green is clean: The first Earth Day is observed. Twenty years later to the day (1990) over 750,000 are treated to an Earth Day Concert in Central Park starring Hall & Oates, Ben E. King and the B-52s...

1978] Blues Brothers debut: John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd make their first appearance as The Blues Brothers on "Saturday Night Live"...

1994] 'Happy Trails': Former President Richard M. Nixon, dies at 81 after suffering a stroke four days earlier...

2001] Elian snatching: In a pre-dawn raid, armed immigration agents seize Elian Gonzalez from his relatives home in Miami. The 6-year old is reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base and flown back to Cuba where he now resides as Castro's prize trophy...

2004] A victim of friendly fire: Ex-NFL player Pat Tillman who traded a successful career for life as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, is killed by friendly fire at the age of 27...For more on April 22nd:

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

1918] The Baron buys it: German ace fighter Baron von Richthofen ("The Red Baron") is shot down (by Snoopy?) and killed during WWI. He was just 26...

1956] A big surprise: Leonard Ross, age 10, becomes the youngest prize winner on the "Big Surprise", winning $100,000. A bigger surprise would be if this was on the level...

1960] I just want to testify: Dick Clark testifies before a congressional committee investigating payola. He will be forced to divest himself of record properties he has a financial interest in…

1965] That's fair: The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens its second and final season...

1977] The sun will come out tonight: The musical "Annie" opens on Broadway...

1980] Marathon scam: When Rosie Ruiz crosses the finish line first in the Boston Marathon, she didn't even break a sweat. The reason? Rosie took the "T" part of the way. Rosie is disqualified...

1986] Blank vault: A vault in Chicago's Lexington Hotel that was linked to Al Capone is opened on live TV and except for some empty gin bottles, the vault is empty...

1992] It's a gas: Robert Alton Harris becomes the first person executed by the state of California in twenty-five years when he's put to death in the gas chamber for the 1978 murder of 2 teenage boys...

1995] Celtic pride: The Boston Celtics play their last game at Boston Garden, their home since 1946. The Fleet Center (now TD Banknorth) is built right next door with a piece of the parquet floor from the old Garden, used on the floor of the new arena...For more on April 21st:

Monday, April 20, 2009

1912] Say hello to Fenway: Fenway Park opens with the Red Sox beating the Highlanders (who will become the Yankees) 7-6. Boston Mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald throws out the first ball, something grandson Teddy Kennedy hopes to do for the 100th anniversary of Fenway in 2012...

Friday, April 17, 2009

1775] The battle for independence: The American Revolutionary War begins with the battles of Lexington and Concord (4/19). This day will be commemorated as "Patriot's Day"...

1923] Stars and pinstripes forever: John Philip Sousa's band plays the national anthem as Yankee Stadium opens in the Bronx. The Yankees beat the Red Sox in the opener 4-1 (4/18). The new Yankee Stadium opened yesterday (4/16/09)...

1951] Debuted on this date:

Mickey Mantle goes 1 for 4 in his Yankee debut as the Bombers beat the Red Sox 5-0 (4/17). Two years later on the same date in 1953, Mantle hits the first “tape measure” home run in Washington. The ball travels 565 feet…

1960] Rock and Roll tragedy: 21-year old rocker Eddie Cochrandies in Bath, England from injuries sustained in a car crash that seriously injures Gene Vincent (4/17). Vincent will recover from his injuries…

1969] Guilty as charged: A jury in Los Angeles convicts Sirhan B. Sirhanof assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 (4/17)…1996] Erik and Lyle Menendez are sentenced to life without parole for the murder of their parents (4/17)…

1981] Marathon men: The longest pro baseball game ever played, between Pawtucket and Rochester is suspended after 32 innings at the 8 hour, 7-minute mark, with the score tied 2-2 at 4:07 a.m. (4/19). Two months later when play resumes, Pawtucket wins in the 33rd innining. Two future Hall of Famers played in that game - Wade Boggs (Pawtucket) and Cal Ripken Jr. (Rochester)...

1993] Siege ends in death: Branch Davidian leader David Koresh and dozens of others are killed when fire destroys their compound near Waco (TX) as the 51-day siege ends (4/19). Attorney General Janet Reno takes responsibility for the way the siege was handled by federal agents...

1995] Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City is destroyed by a bomb (4/19). It is the worst bombing and/or act of terrorism on U.S. soil until 911. One hundred sixty eight are killed including 19 children, 500 are injured. Timothy McVeigh is found guilty of the bombing in June, 1997 and eventually executed for it...

1998] ‘Happy Trails’: Cancer claims the life of Linda McCartney at 56 (4/17)...

2002] Busted: Police arrest actor Robert Blake (4/18) in the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley in 2001. Blake is acquitted but is found liable in a civil case...2003] Scott Peterson is arrested (4/18) in the death of his wife Laci, who is 8 months pregnant when she vanished on Christmas Eve, 2002. Peterson is sentenced to death and is currently on death row in San Quentin...For more on April 17 -19:

1972] Blasting off: Apollo 16 blasts off on a voyage to the moon. It’s the 5th manned moon shot…

1977] I am cadet(te) hear me roar: The ban on women attending West Point is lifted…

1994] Wedding Bells: Harry Connick Jr. and Victoria Secret model Jill Goodacre croon and swoon down the aisle. They are still happily married with family…

1996] “D-I-V-O-R-C-E“: No longer happily married, Britain’s Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah Ferguson ak.a. Fergie, announce their intention of getting divorced. They were married 10 years earlier…

1999] The former Great One: Wayne Gretzky announces his retirement from the Rangers and NHL after 21 years. ‘The Great One’ is now part-owner/coach of the Phoenix Coyotes…2003] Michael Jordan plays his last NBA game (this time for real) as his Washington Wizards end the season with a loss to Philadelphia…

2007] Massacre in Blacksburg: Virginia Tech senior Seung-Hui Cho goes on a shooting rampage resulting in 32 deaths and his own in a suicide on campus in Blacksburg (VA)…For more on April 16th:

1959] Fidelito: Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins what he calls "a good will tour" of the U.S...

1965] Making the Most of Havlicek's steal: In a call made famous by Johnny Most ("Havlicek Stole the Ball") the Celtics win the Eastern Division championship over Philadelphia when John Havlicek steals an in-bound pass as time runs out...

1968] And the Mets still lose: The longest 1-0 game in baseball history is a 24-inning game between the Astros and Mets with Houston winning in 6 hours and 6 minutes...

1982] Rock and Roll Wreck: Billy Joel is seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident on the Long Island Expressway. Yussell will be hospitalized for a month...

1985] It's Marvelous: Marvelous Marvin Hagler retains his world middleweight crown in a great battle with Thomas "Hitman" Hearns that ends in a 3rd round TKO...

2003] Kill the ump takes on an entirely new meaning: Umpire Laz Diaz is attacked by a fan during a Kansas City-Chicago game. The fan is later sentenced to 6 months in jail and forced to watch the rest of the Royal's baseball season...For more on April 15th:

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

1865] A bad day at the theater: President Abraham Lincoln is shot and mortally wounded by actor John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington (DC). He will die of his wounds the following day...

1894] Pass the popcorn: The first public showing of Edison's kinetoscope aka 'moving pictures' is held...

1902] The money man: James Cash Penney opens his first retail store, The Golden Rule Store in Kemmerer (WY). The name will be changed to J.C. Penney...

1910] Play ball: President William Howard Taft throws out the 1st ball for the Washington Senators-Philadelphia A's game in Washington (DC) and a tradition is born...1955] Elston Howard becomes the Yankees first black player...1969] The first major league game is played in Canada (Montreal)...

1912] Down with the ship: The Titanic, on its maiden voyage, hits an iceberg and begins to sink. It will fully sink at 2:27 a.m. on April 15th. More than 700 survive but 1,517 lose their lives...

1939] Sour grapes: John Steinbeck publishes "The Grapes of Wrath"...

1956] Get out the splicing bars: Ampex Corporation demonstrates the first commercial magnetic tape recorder for sound and picture...

2002] Can't hold that Tiger: Tiger Woods becomes only the third golfer in history to win back-to-back Masters titles...

2003] A Tikrit to ride: Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit falls to U.S. led forces with unexpectedly light resistance...

Monday, April 13, 2009

1870] Get the picture?: The Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded in New York City...

1943] Dedicated to the one I love: President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Jefferson Memorial on the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birth...

1954] Debuted on this date: Hank Aaron makes his major league debut with Milwaukee going 0 for 5 in the Braves loss to Cincinnati...1963] Pete Rose gets his first major league hit (a double) for Cincinnati...1978] Reggie Jackson hits a home run and 'Reggie Bars' rain down at Yankee Stadium...

1964] Breaking the color barrier (part I): Sidney Poitier becomes the first black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award, for "Lilies of the Field."...

1970] Crippled Apollo returns safely: Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon is crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen bursts. The astronauts aboard return safely...

1986] Mazel tov: Pope John Paul II visits a Rome synagogue in the first recorded papal visit of its kind...

1997] Breaking the color barrier (part II): 21-year old Tiger Woods becomes the youngest person of African heritage to claim a major golf title by winning the Masters Tournament...

1999] Guilty as charged: Jack Kevorkian is sentenced to 10 to 25 years for the second-degree murder of a man whose assisted suicide was shown on "60 Minutes" in 1998. He is released after serving a few years because of his health...2005] Eric Rudolph pleads guilty to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Olympics and 3 other attacks. He is now serving 4 consecutive life sentences...

2004] Bonds bombs away: Barry Bonds blasts his 661st home run, passing Willie Mays to take sole possession of third place on baseball's career list. Bonds is now the career leader in home runs...For more on April 13th:

Friday, April 10, 2009

1912] Where did you say the lifeboats are?: The Titanic sets sail on its ill-fated maiden voyage from Southampton, England (4/10)...

1924] Debuted on this date: WLS Chicago signs on (4/11)...1962] The New York Mets make their National League debut with an 11-4 loss in St. Louis (4/11)...

1945] 'Happy Trails': President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies from a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs (GA) at 63. Harry S. Truman is sworn in as our new President (4/12)...1998] Edward O. Jackson aka Eddie O'Jay, one of the pioneering disc jockeys of R&B radio, passes away in the Bronx following complications of 2 recent heart attacks. The O'Jays were named after Eddie when he was a jock in Cleveland. Eddie was working for the city of New York when he passed away in his 70s (4/10)...

1947] Breaking the color barrier: 28-year old Jackie Robinson becomes the first black player to be signed by a major league team when Dodger President Branch Rickey signs Jackie to a contract at the team's Montague Street executive offices in Brooklyn (4/10). All Jackie will do is guide the Dodgers to 7 pennants and a World Series victory (1955) in his 10 years in Brooklyn...

1995] Gitchy gitchy ya ya da da: Drew Barrymore jumps on David Letterman's desk, lifts her sweater with her back to the audience and gives Letterman an eyeful for his birthday (4/12)...

1996] Tragedy in the sky: 7-year old Jessica Dubroff, who was trying to become the youngest person to fly cross-country is killed with her father and flight instructor after taking off from Cheyenne (WY) (4/11)...

2003] House rules: The House passes the national Amber Alert System and strengthens child pornography laws (4/10)...

2007] Canned Imus: Don Imus is fired for his racial references to the Rutgers' women's basketball team. On the same day (4/12) New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is seriously injured in an automobile crash. Corzine was on his way to a meeting with the team and Imus (4/12)...For more on April 10 - 12:

Thursday, April 9, 2009

1912] Play Ball: The 1st exhibition game is played at Fenway Park with the Sox beating Harvard 2-0 in a game played in the snow...

1913] Ebbets debut: The Dodgers play their 1st regular season game at Ebbets Field as nearly 12,000 fans watch Brooklyn lose a 1-0 game to the Phillies. This would be a rough year for the home team as the Bums finish 34 1/2 games out of 1st place...

1959] The Mercury Seven: NASA announces the selection of America's first seven astronauts...

1962] Oscar Gold: "West Side Story" wins 10 Academy Awards...1972] Jane Fonda wins an Oscar for her role in "Klute"...

1965] The Mick connects: Mickey Mantle hits the 1st Astrodome home run in an exhibition game between Houston and the Yankees. It is the 1st indoor baseball game...

1974] Chicken is hatched: College student Ted Giannoulas answers a radio station ad for a mascot in San Diego and becomes the 'San Diego Chicken'...

1976] 'Happy Trails': Songwriter and performer Phil Ochs who suffers from manic-depression, takes his own life at 35...1988] Dave Prater of Sam & Dave is killed in a car accident at 50...

1992] Adios: Former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega is convicted in Miami of 8 drug and racketeering charges and is sentenced to 30 years in prison...

1952] Working in the coal mine: President Harry S. Truman seizes the steel mills in order to prevent a nationwide strike...

1953] Rollin' them bones: The bones of Sitting Bull are moved from North to South Dakota...

1974] A new home run king: Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth, becoming baseball's new Home Run King with his 715th home run off of Dodger pitcher Al Downing. Barry Bonds has since passed Aaron...

1983] Death by suicide: Danny & the Juniors lead singer, Danny Rapp is a victim of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at 41. ..1994] The body of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain is found in Seattle, another apparent victim of suicide. Cobain was 27...

1998] Bailed out: George Michael is released on bail after his arrest for engaging in a lewd act in a park restroom...

1957] The trolley swan song: The last of New York City's electric trolleys completes its final run from Queens to Manhattan...

1958] Screened in: The Los Angeles Dodgers erect a 42-foot screen in left field at the Coliseum to cut down on home runs, only 250-feet down the line. The screen won't stop Frank "Hondo" Howard from clearing it with his bombs...

1963] Diaper duffer: At the age of 23, Jack Nicklaus becomes the youngest golfer to win the green jacket at the Masters Tournament...

1967] Who's your daddy?: Tom Donahue begins the progressive aka AOR (Album Oriented Rock) FM format at KMPX in San Francisco. Donahue will become known as the "Father of FM Radio." ...

1969] Save me: The Dodgers' Bill Singer is credited with the first offical 'save' against the Reds. Write it down trivia fans...

1970] An Oscar for The Pilgrim: John Wayne wins his first and only Oscar for his role in "True Grit". It took him over 200 films to accomplish the feat...

1998] Filling Sonny's shoes: Mary Bono, Sonny's widow, wins a special election to serve out the remainder of her husband's congressional term...

2008] Jayhawks soar: Kansas defeats Memphis in overtime, 75-68, to win the NCAA Men's College Basketball Championship. Last night North Carolina crushed Michigan State 89-72 to replace Kansas as national champs...For more on April 7th:

1973] Designated: The Yankees' Ron Blomberg becomes the American League's first designated hitter at Fenway Park. A rule still in effect but only in the American League. The National League knows better...

1974] Share and share alike: The Yankees who start sharing Shea Stadium with the Mets while Yankee Stadium is renovated, beat the Indians 6-1 in their first game there. They get their stadium back in time for the opener in 1976...

1980] Stick it: Post-it notes are introduced to the public...

1980] Curtains: Gordie Howe's remarkable 26-year NHL career ends when at 52 he plays his last game and scores his 801st and final goal for Hartford against his former team - the Detroit Red Wings...1987] Dodger VP Al Campanis is quoted as saying "blacks lacked the necessities to be managers" to Ted Koppel on "Nightline". Campanis soon lacks the necessity of a job...

1992] 'Happy Trails': Science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov dies at 72 from AIDS, contracted by a blood transfusion during open-heart surgery...1998] Legendary Country singer Tammy Wynette dies in her sleep in Nashville at 55. Tammy, who I had the pleasure of meeting, was known as "The First Lady of Country Music" for having 18 Number one hits on the Country charts...

1998] A marriage made on Wall Street: Citicorp and Travelers Group announce a merger creating the largest financial-services conglomerate in the world under the name Citigroup...

2004] This school knows basketball: On April 5th, the Connecticut Huskies men's team wins the NCAA championship by beating Georgia Tech 82-73. On April 6th the female Huskies win their title by beating Tennessee 70-61. It's the first time a Division 1 school wins both titles in the same season...For more on April 6th:

Friday, April 3, 2009

1882] 'Happy Trails': Outlaw Jesse James, 34, is shot dead in St. Joseph (MO) by Robert Ford, a member of his gang (4/3)...2008] Charlton Heston dies from pneumonia at 84 (4/5)...

1936] Death by electrocution: Bruno Hauptmann is electrocuted in Trenton (NJ) for the kidnap-murder of the Lindbergh baby (4/3)...

1953] Debuted on this date: TV Guide is published for the first time with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Jr. on the cover (4/3)...

1968] Curtains: Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his 'mountaintop' speech to a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis. It will be his final speech (4/3)...The very next day King is gunned down while standing on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel (4/4)...

1966] The Mets win the lottery: The New York Mets win the rights to "The Franchise" aka. Tom Seaver in a lottery drawing after the Atlanta Braves violated rules by signing the pitcher after the college season had started. Three years later Seaver helps the Mets win their first World Series (4/3)...

1982] Chapter 11: Record World Magazine, which was founded in 1946 as Music Vendor and changed its name to Record World in 1964, folds (4/5)...

1985] Baseball rolls a seven: Baseball owners and players agree to expand the post-season championship series from a best-of-five format to 'best-of-seven' (4/3)...

2001] No mo hits: Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo no-hits Baltimore to become only the 4th major league pitcher to pitch no-hitters in both leagues (4/4)...

2007] Nappy-headed Imus: Don Imus makes offensive on-air remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team (4/4). Despite a subsequent apology, Imus is fired by CBS Radio and MSNBC...For more on April 3 - 5:

1930] The Haile Selassie Fan Club is started: Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia...

1932] Blood Money: A $50,000 ransom is paid for the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. The child is not returned and will be found dead the following month...

1972] 'Happy Trails': Mets manager Gil Hodges who managed the Mets to their first world championship in 1969, dies of a heart attack while playing golf in West Palm Beach (FL) two days before his 48th birthday. Yogi Berra replaces Hodges as Mets manager...1998] Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli dies of a drug overdose in a Frankfurt, Germany hotel room. Pilatus was 32...2005] Pope John Paul II dies of natural causes at 85. Karol Jozef Wojtyla is succeeded by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger who becomes Pope Benedict XVI...

1972] Little Tramp sighting: Charlie Chaplin returns to the U.S. for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 50s...

1978] Debuted on this date: The first episode of "Dallas" airs on CBS-TV. The series will run for the last time in May of 1991...

1986] The Trey goes to college: The NCAA adopts the 3-point shot in men's basketball and decides to use instant replay to check scoring and timing errors...

1992] Guilty as charged: Mob boss John Gotti is convicted in New York of murder and racketeering. He's later sentenced to life in prison where he will die...

2007] Gator attack: The Florida Gators be

at the Ohio State Buckeyes 84-75 in the NCAA basketball championship game to become the first school in Division I history to win both the men's basketball and football titles in the same academic year...For more on April 2nd:

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

1876] Play Ball: Boston beats Philadelphia 6-5 in the first official National League game. The Boston Red Caps become the Braves and the Philadelphia A's will be expelled after the '76 season...

1930] And he held on to the ball: Gabby Harnett of the Cubs breaks the height record for a catch when he grabs a baseball dropped from the Goodyear blimp 800 feet over Los Angeles. Excavation of his body takes several days but when found, the ball was still in his glove - and nobody got hurt...

1963] Back to work: The Typographers Union ends its strike that closed 9 New York City newspapers for 114 days. The strike began in December of 1962. One of the reasons we only have 3 viable newspapers (Times, News & Post) left...

1972] Strike One: Major leaguers walk out at the end of spring training and begin the first general player's strike in sports history. They return April 13...

1976] A ripe Apple: Apple Computer is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Wozniak now moonlights as a dancer. Well he did until last night that is...

About Me

Mel Phillips Now & Then is more Now. The Then always follows the Now. Prior to starting 'Remembers' in 2005 and 'Now & Then' on April 7, 2008 I enjoyed a multi-media career which included being one of the Bill Drake program directors. I was involved in the programming of such legendary stations as WOR-FM, WXLO-FM, WNBC, WRKO AM & FM and KQV. I was also General Manager of Hooper Radio, played disc jockey in markets such as Tampa, Nashville, Norfolk and Atlantic City and enjoyed marketing success in syndicated radio for several companies including ABC, MJI and United Stations. My background also includes the music business where I promoted such diverse CBS acts as The Clash, Gloria Estefan, Loverboy, Judas Priest, George Michael & Julio Iglesias. In Special Programming at WCBS-FM I wrote and produced numerous specials and interviewed some of the biggest recording stars. In addition to this post I'm a regular contributor to Radio Daily News. My wife Diane and I reside on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and I'm very proud of my children, Robert Phillips, Lynn Phillips Brough and granddaughters Allyson and Amy...